Sands of Time
by protejerinnocencia
Summary: Three very important memories recounted that this man must endure for the rest of his days Written preHBP
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Fallen Angel

"How many times have I told you to stay out of my way you incompetent brat!" Guasto snarled at his seven-year-old son.

The boy backed slowly into a corner, his silken black hair hanging about his face in a mat of sweat; his grey eyes shining with fear. He knew he shouldn't have bothered his father but he couldn't help it. He wanted to learn about potions and his father was the only person he knew that could teach him. The man advanced on the boy like a wolf stalking its prey. Before the child could utter a sound the man's strong and powerful hand slapped him across the face, leaving a spot where a bruise would quickly form. Without so much as a pause the hand swung back like a pendulum, clipping the boy's chin with a loud 'thwack'.

"Now get out you pathetic excuse for a child," the wizard growled condescendingly.

"F-Father I---," the boy began, tears spilling from his somber eyes.

"OUT!" Guasto bellowed and with that he picked the boy up by his robes and tossed him out the door.

The child landed on the hard ground with a rather disconcerting 'thud'. He rose on unsteady legs and made his way to his parent's bedroom. In the time it took him to travel the foot and a half to the door, his mother, Anima, moved from the bed to the doorway with her hands crossed over her voluptuous chest. He looked up at her steely green eyes and dark brown hair. He saw so little of her in himself. She extended a slender hand to him with a weary expression on both her mouth and in her eyes. The boy followed his mother obediently and silently to the small bathroom that adjoined the sleeping quarters.

"Now Severus you know your father doesn't like to be interrupted while he's working," she said calmly, retrieving a face cloth from the closet and running it under hot water.

She gently and lovingly wiped the blood from her offspring's bruised face. Tears still glistened in his forlorn eyes. She put the cloth on the edge of the sink and pulled her son to her in a protective hug. She stroked his soft hair and buried her nose in its sweet smell, trying not to cry. She hated how her husband treated their son.

"Mother. Do you love me?" he asked in between sobs.

"Of course I do darling. Don't ever forget that," she whispered serenely in his ear.

"Your father loves you too. He just isn't sure how to show it," she added quickly.

"No he doesn't. He hates me," the 7-year-old wailed.

"Shhh. Just stay out of his way alright," Anima whispered firmly.

They broke their embrace and the boy straightened his robes and wiped away the last of his tears from granite color eyes. He turned abruptly on his heel and left the bathroom. He walked past the open door to his father's office but averted his gaze. Severus spent the rest of the afternoon in dreary silence.

That night as he lay in bed, Severus could the voices of his parents down the hall. His father had had a lot to drink that night and was in one of his abusive moods, as if you could call any of his moods non abusive. He could just make out what they were saying.

"I'm sick and tired of you treating him like a house elf!" Anima shouted angrily at her drunken husband.

"He's my goddamn son and I'll treat him any bloody way I want," he snarled, his speech slightly slurred.

"If you ever lay another hand on that boy---," she began but what cut off by fist making contact with bone.

Severus shot out of bed and snuck to the entrance of his parents' room. He saw his mother, her face dripping with crimson colored blood. She had tears streaming down her pale face like rivers. Suddenly Guasto drew from his robes an 11-3/4 inch cherry wand and pointed it unsteadily at the beaten woman in front of him.

"Crucio!" he yelled and the woman collapsed in mind numbing pain.

"Please…stop!" she begged.

"Shut up!' he sneered menacingly.

What happened next would scar the child watching forever. The man he called his father raised his wand and unleashed the Avada Kadavra curse on the female, killing her instantly. The boy retreated in fear. He had lost his protector, his angel.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Fueling the Fire

The 15-year-old Severus sat gloomily in a high wing backed chair in the Slytherin Common Room. A furious snowstorm raged against the glass in the dim windows, rattling them like chains. A pitifully small fire burned in the large stone hearth. In his hand, he held a tattered envelope, his name scrawled haphazardly on the front. The ink had smudged and now stained his translucent skin.

"You ok?" came the gentle voice of Jessie Detten, his attractive and supportive girlfriend.

"Fine," he responded in a dull monotone.

Jessie placed a smooth, slender hand on his shoulder as she lowered her 5'6'' frame into the chair to his immediate right. Her silver eyes searched his granite colored ones for some sign of emotion. All she found was elusiveness. He felt her gaze upon him and quickly slid the letter into the sleeve of his robes. He hated the feeling of being watched. Ever since the death of his mother eight years previous, he'd felt like it was only a matter of time until he would fall at his father's hands.

"What's wrong? Have those stupid Gryffindor gits been bothering you again?" Jessie inquired, her silver and black hair reflecting bits of firelight.

"No," he stated simply.

"Ok. You can tell me you know," she murmured quietly, taking his right hand in her left.

"I'm still staying with you for Christmas right?" Jessie asked suddenly, a hopeful shine to her silver eyes.

"Yes," Severus replied with a sigh.

Jessie smiled broadly and let out a small squeal. She jumped up and hugged him quickly before running off up to the girls dormitory. Severus took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He removed the letter from his sleeve and stared at it. He was not particularly interested in what his father had to say for there was no doubt in the boy's mind that it was only a barrage of slanderous insults. With a resolved look on his face, he rose from the chair and tossed the letter into the fire. Eager to consume the new meal, the flames rose and warmed the room ever so slightly.

The first day of the Christmas holiday arrived with a bang. Students rushed out into the crystalline snow with trunks and heavy coats as they hurried to catch the Hogwarts Express. Severus and Jessie had beaten the rush and were seated comfortably in a compartment. The sound of voices and laughter resonated in the hall and stopped just outside the closed compartment door. It slid open to reveal James Potter and Sirius Black, both wearing eager grins.

"Oi Prongsy, look who we found," Sirius chuckled.

"Yeah mate," James snickered.

"So Snivelly, what are you doing for holiday?" Sirius questioned mockingly.

Before he could answer, Jessie was on her feet, wand pointed at the intruders. James and Sirius exchanged sidelong glances before bursting out laughing.

"Shut it you stupid pricks. Now get out before I shove those wands up your arses," she snarled venomously.

"You think we're afraid of a girl?" James sneered, taking out his wand.

"Expelleramus!" she shouted and James flew backwards and landed on the ground with a loud 'whack'.

"You want some too?" she growled, turning on Sirius.

"Bring it on," he smirked.

"Impedimenta," she bellowed and Sirius's wand flew out of his hand and hit James on the head.

With that, the two Gryffindors retreated down the corridor and into a compartment. Satisfied, Jessie turned and sat back down putting her want away.

"Why did you do that?" Severus groaned.

"They're such prick heads," his girlfriend responded in an annoyed tone.

"Well now they're going to give me hell about having to let a girl fight my battles for me," he grumbled.

The compartment fell silent. For the rest of the train ride neither teenager looked at the other. Finally, the monotonous silence was broken by the sound of the whistle announcing their arrival that Kings Cross Station. The couple gathered their belongings and left the train behind.

"We'll have to catch a cab," he muttered, fishing through his pockets from some muggle money.

Once they arrived at the Snape Mansion, Severus put his left hand in his pocket, gripping his wand. He pushed the door open with his right and the two teens entered. The living room was dark, as was the dining room and kitchen. The only logical place for his father to be was his office.

"Put your things down and wait here," Severus ordered in a whisper.

Without waiting for a reply, he made his way slowly up the stairs until he came to the door of his father's office. He gently pushed it open and walked in. Guasto sat, bent over a cast iron cauldron.

"Father?" Severus said nervously.

"I thought I told you to get the hell out of my house," Guasto growled.

"No you didn't," Severus replied truthfully.

Suddenly his mind flitted back to the letter. Had his father told him not to come home? He swallowed quickly. He'd brought the person he loved and cared the most about into a death trap.

"Liar! You're a liar just like you fucking mother was!" he erupted in a drunken rage.

"Don't talk about her like that," Severus growled, his hands balling into fists.

Just then Jessie appeared in the doorway. Her silver eyes took in the odd scene with curiosity. Guasto's eyes turned to survey the girl and a malicious smile spread across his grotesque features.

"You didn't tell me you had a little wench, boy," he snarled, drawing his wand from in robes.

"Leave her alone," Severus stated, moving to stand in front of her.

"Shut up!" Guasto demanded and slapped his son, sending him sprawling to the ground.

Jessie stood there in fear. Her limbs shook like tree branches in a breeze. Guasto sauntered over to her, his balance and coordination thrown off by his drunkenness. He grabbed her under the chin and locked eyes with her. He released her and raised his wand, his hand shaking all the while.

"Severus help," she gasped, tears running down her face.

The boy groaned in pain but stood, blood dripping from his nose. He had a fire burning in his eyes and he raised his wand at his father.

"I said leave her alone!" he shouted.

"Impedimenta!" Severus shouted.

Unfortunately for Severus, Guasto swayed and the spell missed him. Regaining his balance the older wizard pointed his wand at Jessie's quivering frame.

"Avada Kadavra," he muttered and she fell motionless to ground.

For the second time in his life Severus had lost someone he loved to that man. He hated that man, the man he was forced to call his father. Without another word, Severus picked up the lifeless body of his girlfriend and fled from the manor.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Coming Full Circle

Severus stared blankly out at the four house tables filled with excited students. The Christmas Holiday was only a few hours away. A hand on his shoulder startled him out of his daze.

"Is something wrong Severus?" Minerva McGonagall questioned as she took her place beside him at the staff table.

"Just the holiday itself. Life would be so much easier if we could just skip it all together," he mumbled quietly.

"Oh come now. Everyone loves Christmas," she stated with a laugh.

"It's a black mark in my book. I lost someone I loved very much over Christmas in my fifth year," he replied, a shudder running down his spine.

"Oh Severus I'm so sorry," she said, placing her creased hand lightly on top of his smooth one.

He merely nodded. The Transfiguration teacher could tell there was something else that he was not telling her but she let it pass for she knew that Severus Snape was not someone you wanted to upset.

Several hours later, a mass of students pushed its way through the door of the Entrance Hall into the frigid December air. Snape watched them go and felt a slight longing in his heart. Ever since Jessie's untimely demise, he'd stayed as far from his father as he could. This had proved to be more difficult than he'd anticipated. When he was forced to stay at the manor, he secluded himself in his room.

As Severus turned to head to the staff room for an urgent Order meeting, he thought about the night his mother died. He still remembered her begging his father to stop. A single tear slid down his pale face. As he neared the door, voices could be heard through the thick stone walls.

"Where the hell is he?" came a familiar voice, its speech slightly slurred.

"Who are you looking for?" Minerva questioned.

"When I find him, I'm gonna kill that son-of-a-bitch," Guasto growled.

Severus pulled open the door and stepped in, steeling himself for the worst. At the appearance of his son, Guasto fumbled in his robes for his wand.

'_God he's a mess_,' Snape thought to himself.

Without another second's hesitation, Severus grabbed the front of his father's robes and thrust him against the cold stone wall. The older wizard looked shocked.

"Get your filthy paws off of me you bastard," he protested drunkenly.

"Shut up you pathetic, drunken git," Severus snarled, locking eyes with his father.

"In here I call the shots. You killed my mother because she fought back and you killed Jessie because I cared about her. Well this time you've got no one but me to deal with," he continued angrily.

Professor McGonagall had been taken aback at the sight of Severus thrusting the intruder against the wall. She quietly moved towards the door, agile as a cat, and slipped from the room.

"Get your filthy paws off of me you whining little ingrate," Guasto muttered again and pushed his son off of him.

"You ruined my life ever since I was a child and now its time for me to ruin yours old man!" Snape bellowed furiously.

"You think you're gonna beat me, stupid motherfucker!" his father slurred dramatically.

"I've had it with your insults," he stated calmly.

Severus had not reached for his wand. He would take whatever his father threw at him full force. His grey eyes landed on a sword hanging above the mantle and a thought popped into his head.

"Crucio!" Guasto yelled for he had found his wand.

Severus fell to the ground in agony but he would not beg and he would not plead with this man. He would not give him the satisfaction of having his son grovel at his feet. The younger wizard used all of his will power and rose. He limped to the mantle reached out his arm, grasping the sword firmly. Guasto's grey eyes, the eyes his damned offspring had inherited traveled the length of the sword. Immediately, he dropped his wand hand, removing the spell. Severus took a deep breath and advanced on his father.

"W-What are you d-doing?" the drunkard babbled nervously.

"Doing what I should have done ages ago," his son snarled.

As Guasto retreated towards the wall, Severus steadily advanced, matching his father's stride. With one swift motion, the blade penetrated the old man's gut and had gone clean through and had lodged itself in a crevice in the wall.

"Goodbye Father. If I learned one thing from you it's that life is a bitch when you've got innocent blood on your hands. It's a good thing your blood is damned to hell!" Snape shouted as his father ceased to breath.

The dark-haired wizard left the room and was greeted with fearful looks from his fellow Order members. He simply stared back, not saying a word. Dumbledore made a move to enter the staff room, but Severus put a hand out to catch him in mid-stride.

"Don't go in there. It looks like hell's taken over," Severus warned and with that he proceeded down the hall towards his private office. He needed some time to himself. After all, he'd just gotten rid of the worst demon in his life.


End file.
